Within the scope of strict legal regulations relating to the emissions of pollutants emitted by motor vehicles, one important measure is aimed at ensuring that emissions of pollutants which occur in the respective cylinder of the internal combustion engine during the combustion of the air/fuel mixture are kept low. A further measure is also aimed at using, in internal combustion engines, exhaust gas post-treatment systems which convert the emissions of pollutants which are generated in the respective cylinders during the combustion process of the air/fuel mixture into innocuous substances. For this purpose, exhaust gas catalytic convertors are used which convert carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxides into innocuous substances.
Furthermore, it is also necessary to ensure that as few emissions of pollutants as possible are emitted from the respective motor vehicle in other ways.
In this context there is generally a need for corresponding monitoring, in particular within the scope of a diagnosis of components of the internal combustion engine and of components which are assigned to the internal combustion engine which are correspondingly relevant in terms of pollutants.
DE 197 573 45 discloses a blow-by gas duct abnormality-detection system for an internal combustion engine. Said system has an idling state-detection device for detecting whether the running state of the internal combustion engine is the idling state. In addition, said system has a leak-detection device for detecting leaking of a blow-by gas which comes from a blow-by gas duct which feeds the blow-by gas, which is generated at the internal combustion engine, into the intake duct, on the basis of a parameter which changes with a change in the airflow which is to be sucked into the internal combustion engine, if the idling state is detected by the idling state-detection device. Leaking of the blow-by gas is detected, for example, on the basis of an air/fuel ratio of the internal combustion engine or on the basis of an intake pressure of the internal combustion engine.
DE 10 140 987 B4 discloses an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle having a fuel tank, an activated carbon filter which is connected thereto and which is connected to an intake pipe via a tank-venting valve, and having a crankcase vent. The crankcase vent is connected to the activated carbon container via a non-return valve with a throttle.